Episode notes
Episode 61, and Ireland are off the mark in the Nations Championship — Andy Farrell's injury-hit side came from 12 points down to beat Joe Schmidt's Wallabies 33-31 in a madcap thriller at a sold-out Allianz Stadium in Sydney. Hugo Keenan was official Man of the Match — try-saving tackle on Suaalii and the bonus-point score — Tom Clarkson's 77th-minute try sealed it, and Ben Donaldson missed two late penalties on a night the Prendergast brothers both crossed too. Round 1 delivered elsewhere too — New Zealand edged France 34-32 in Christchurch and South Africa hammered England 45-21 at Ellis Park in two of the wildest games you'll see all summer. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:
🌍 Nations Championship Round 1 results; All six fixtures from the opening weekend — NZ 34-32 France, Japan 27-10 Italy, our game in Sydney, Fiji 24-39 Wales, South Africa 45-21 England, and Argentina 38-47 Scotland — plus a look at the two wildest games in Christchurch and Johannesburg.
🔥 Overall opinion of the game; Why this was classic Farrell-ball — 24-12 down, defence all over the shop in the first half, belief in the closing stages, and a prop burrowing over with three minutes left.
📋 Analysis of the game events; Pietsch's early try, four Wallaby first-half scores, Keenan's tackle on Suaalii, Gibson-Park before the break, Clarkson's winner, Sheehan's disallowed try, Shaw's yellow, and Donaldson's two missed penalties in the red.
🗺️ Nations Championship positioning after this weekend; Ireland on five points with a bonus-point win, Australia and France on two, England nil — and Round 2 fixtures including Japan vs Ireland in Newcastle next Saturday.